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Each presidential candidates appeared on Fox Information on Oct. 16 — former President Donald Trump in a city corridor with ladies voters in Georgia and Vice President Kamala Harris in an interview with Bret Baier. We fact-checked their remarks, and we discovered:
- Trump inflated the U.S. troop presence in South Korea and falsely claimed that as president “I made them [South Korea] pay” the price of these troops and that due to President Joe Biden, “they don’t pay anymore.” Trump’s negotiations over cost-sharing stalled in 2020, and Biden has negotiated two offers which have elevated South Korea’s contribution.
- Harris stated that “underneath Donald Trump’s administration,” gender-affirming surgical procedures “have been out there to, on a medical necessity foundation, to individuals within the federal jail system.” A Federal Bureau of Prisons memo indicated it will be legally obligated to pay for such surgical procedures, however no federal prisoners obtained gender-affirming surgical procedure throughout Trump’s presidency.
- There’s no proof that “the highest individuals” on the Federal Emergency Administration Company “confiscated” Starlink satellite tv for pc techniques throughout Hurricane Helene restoration “as a result of they didn’t need it to go there,” as Trump claimed. In truth, FEMA itself offered Starlink techniques.
- Harris left the deceptive impression that Trump would solely “give tax cuts to billionaires and the most important companies.” His proposals would reduce taxes for the rich and companies, however they’d additionally profit most different taxpayers.
- Trump grossly inflated the variety of immigration court docket judges and falsely claimed: “No different nation has judges on the border. If any individual walks in, they stroll them out.” Many different international locations settle for refugees and permit them to remain within the nation pending an asylum listening to in court docket, as is completed within the U.S.
- Harris cited a number of financial analyses, claiming they stated her plans would “strengthen” the financial system, whereas Trump’s plans “would ignite inflation and invite a recession by the center of subsequent 12 months.” The analyses have been favorable to Harris, however solely one of many 4 projected a recession underneath Trump.
- Trump falsely claimed that “13,099 murderers have been launched into our nation” underneath the Biden administration. That’s the variety of noncitizens convicted of homicide who weren’t being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, however the overwhelming majority entered earlier than Biden took workplace. Many are in jail.
- Harris stated that as president, she’s going to “comply with the legislation” with regards to permitting immigrants within the nation illegally to use for a driver’s license, to qualify without spending a dime tuition at universities or to be enrolled in free well being care. However she has supported these positions up to now.
- Trump bought a number of issues unsuitable concerning the Haitian immigrant inhabitants in Springfield, Ohio, inflating the variety of immigrants, falsely saying they have been within the nation illegally and claiming they have been “dropped” within the metropolis.
- Trump once more referred to a chart that he says exhibits “the day I left workplace” had the “fewest variety of individuals” illegally trying to cross into the U.S. The arrow within the mislabeled chart really factors to April 2020, when apprehensions plummeted throughout the top of the pandemic.
- The previous president left the misunderstanding that he “completed off” the Islamic State, also called ISIS or IS, in a matter of weeks.
Trump additionally repeated many claims he has made earlier than. He falsely stated “each authorized scholar” wished to finish Roe v. Wade, tremendously inflated the scope of unlawful immigration on the southern border, falsely claimed Harris had been appointed the “border czar,” wrongly stated the U.S. had “the best financial system” ever throughout his time period, misled about U.S. vitality manufacturing, made false claims about inflation, and exaggerated the quantity of border wall constructed throughout his administration.
False Claims About U.S. Troops in South Korea
“South Korea, we have now 42,000 troopers there,” Trump stated. “They don’t pay. I made them pay. Everybody raised hell. And Biden took the deal and he stated they don’t pay anymore.”
Based on the newest Department of Defense knowledge, there have been 23,732 “troopers” stationed in South Korea as of June 30 (about 1,700 fewer than within the final month of the Trump administration). A further 3,073 civilians employed by the navy have been additionally working in South Korea. However even together with them, Trump’s estimate of the troop presence in South Korea is considerably inflated.
As for the declare that as president, “I made them pay,” however that due to Biden, “they don’t pay anymore,” that’s all hogwash. As we wrote in February 2023, Trump, when he was president, commonly complained concerning the sum of money South Korea pays the U.S. to take care of American navy bases there. The 12 months he took workplace, 2017, South Korea paid about $830 million within the final 12 months of a five-year settlement. In 2019, the Trump administration secured a one-year deal that elevated South Korea’s fee by about 8.3%. The next 12 months, Trump sought billions of {dollars} extra from South Korea in a brand new deal. However negotiations stalled, and an settlement was by no means reached.
Quickly after being elected, Biden inked a brand new five-year deal through which South Korea agreed to extend its cost-sharing fee by 13.9% in 2021. In subsequent years of the deal, South Korea agreed to extend its contribution at a charge tied to will increase in its protection funds. Earlier this month, the Biden administration reached a new five-year cost-sharing agreement, from 2026 to 2030, that may improve South Korea’s fee in 2026 by 8.3% over the associated fee in 2025.
Gender-Affirming Surgical procedure for Federal Prisoners
The Trump marketing campaign has just lately run an advertisement saying that “Kamala helps taxpayer-funded intercourse adjustments for prisoners.” Fox Information played a part of the advert earlier than asking Harris, “So, are you continue to in assist of utilizing taxpayer {dollars} to assist jail inmates or detained unlawful aliens to transition to a different gender?”
Harris responded by claiming that Trump’s coverage on this subject, when he was in workplace, “was no totally different” than her personal.
“I’ll comply with the legislation, and it’s a legislation that Donald Trump really adopted,” Harris stated. “You’re most likely conversant in — now it’s a public report — that underneath Donald Trump’s administration, these surgical procedures have been out there to, on a medical necessity foundation, to individuals within the federal jail system. And I believe frankly that advert from the Trump marketing campaign is somewhat little bit of like throwing, , stones while you’re dwelling in a glass home.”
As we’ve written beforehand, the federal government is obligated underneath the Structure to supply vital medical take care of prisoners. A sequence of authorized rulings — each on the state and federal stage — have present in favor of inmates looking for gender-affirming surgical procedure. Any try by both Trump or Harris to bar transgender inmates from receiving medically vital gender-affirming care would doubtless be challenged in court docket.
Nonetheless, Harris’ response is lacking the context that the primary surgical procedure for a federal inmate happened in 2022. Additionally, in 2019, Harris expressed assist in a candidate questionnaire for “medically vital” gender-affirming care, together with surgical care, for federal prisoners and detainees. She had not detailed her place on this marketing campaign earlier than saying within the Fox Information interview that she “will comply with the legislation.”
In speaking a few public report, Harris seems to be referring to a New York Instances article revealed the identical day because the Fox Information interview. The article factors out that federal inmates obtained gender-affirming hormone remedy throughout the Trump administration.
The article additionally says {that a} 2018 Federal Bureau of Prisons budget memo signifies that the company thought-about the federal government “obligated to pay for a prisoner’s ‘surgical procedure’ if it was deemed medically vital.” In a piece on well being care “challenges,” the memo says that medical take care of transgender inmates “might embody pharmaceutical interventions (e.g., cross-gender hormone remedy), hair removing and surgical procedure (if individualized evaluation signifies surgical intervention is relevant).”
The BOP issued this memo throughout a time when prisoners looking for gender-affirming surgical procedure had already had authorized victories. The primary gender-affirming surgical procedure for a prisoner took place in early January 2017 in California, adopted by another surgeries for transgender state inmates.
Later that month, within the closing days of the Obama administration, the BOP issued a Transgender Offender Guide, meant to “present steering to employees in coping with the distinctive points that come up when working with transgender inmates.” The guide didn’t particularly point out gender-affirming surgical procedure however did state that hormone remedy “or different medical therapy could also be offered after an individualized evaluation of the requested inmate by establishment medical employees.”
The BOP underneath the Trump administration went on to edit the guide, primarily to roll back sure suggestions on housing of transgender inmates. It largely left alone the brief part on medical care, though it added the phrase “vital” to the phrase “medical therapy” when referring to the opportunity of supplying hormone remedy and different “vital medical therapy.”
In the meantime, the BOP continued to resist requests for gender-affirming surgical procedure. In 2019, a transgender federal inmate named Cristina Nichole Iglesias filed suit towards the BOP for denying her gender-affirming care. A December 2021 court docket ruling found that the BOP needed to have Iglesias evaluated for gender-affirming surgical procedure, which she received in 2023. One other federal transgender inmate who had sued BOP had received surgical procedure in 2022.
The BOP underneath the Biden-Harris administration in January 2022 reissued the Transgender Offender Guide, with an added part on surgical procedure for transgender prisoners. “For transgender inmates in Bureau custody, surgical procedure often is the closing stage within the transition course of and is usually thought-about solely after one 12 months of clear conduct and compliance with psychological well being, medical, and programming providers on the gender affirming facility,” the guide stated.
Nonetheless, since Iglesias’ 2023 surgical procedure, it doesn’t seem that extra transgender federal inmates have obtained gender-affirming surgical procedure. The BOP told us Sept. 25 that thus far, solely two transgender federal prisoners had obtained gender-affirming surgical procedures.
No Proof Starlink ‘Confiscated’ by FEMA
Echoing debunked claims made on social media, Trump stated the Federal Emergency Administration Company had blocked the supply of Starlink web satellite tv for pc techniques throughout Hurricane Helene restoration and “confiscated” them. In truth, FEMA offered Starlink techniques to assist in emergency responder communications, and the company said rumors about FEMA stopping or confiscating donations “are all false.”
Trump stated that he referred to as Elon Musk, whose SpaceX firm owns and operates Starlink, on the request of somebody in North Carolina and requested Musk to ship Starlink techniques. “He had it to them in minutes, actually earlier than I hung up the telephone,” Trump stated. “I used to be referred to as whereas I used to be speaking to him that they — that he simply permitted it. … They really — when Elon had these Starlinks and so they desperately wanted — they’d no communication. They’re virtually like an island unto themselves. They arrive in. They usually have been confiscated by FEMA by mainly the highest individuals, as a result of they didn’t need it to go there. After which all hell broke free, and so they bought the Starlink.”
There’s no proof that FEMA “confiscated” Starlink techniques or that the “high individuals” didn’t need it in North Carolina. FEMA itself had offered Starlink techniques to the state. On Sept. 30, in a press launch about Hurricane Helene reduction efforts, FEMA said that 40 Starlink techniques have been out there in North Carolina “to assist with responder communications,” and one other 140 satellites have been on the way in which “to help with communications infrastructure restoration.”
Based on an Oct. 1 tweet from Musk, Trump did contact him, alerting him to “further individuals who want Starlink Web in North Carolina. We’re sending them terminals straight away.”
The following day, Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump posted on social media that she had visited North Carolina with a reduction group that had “delivered and arrange over 300 Starlinks donated by SpaceX.”
The corporate says it can present free service till the top of this 12 months for these with a Starlink package who had been affected by Hurricane Helene or Milton.
On Oct. 4, Musk posted on X twice, saying {that a} SpaceX engineer claimed “FEMA is actively blocking shipments and seizing items and providers domestically” and that one other particular person claimed the Federal Aviation Administration was “throttling flights.” Division of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg himself responded on X the identical day: “Nobody is shutting down the airspace and FAA doesn’t block reputable rescue and restoration flights. If you happen to’re encountering an issue give me a name.”
Just a few hours later, Musk posted: “Thanks for serving to simplify the FAA NOTAM. Help flights are actually underway. A lot appreciated.”
In an interview on MSNBC on Oct. 6, Buttigieg said, “What was really occurring was the FAA was not closing down any airspace, however there was a difficulty with pilots who have been serving to get Starlink tools to the place it wanted to be, having the correct data. We labored that with native authorities, and we have been capable of handle it. And , I believe to me, it’s an instance of how usually the very best factor to do is simply to select up the telephone.”
As we’ve written, throughout pure disasters, the FAA quickly restricts airspace over affected areas on the request of native authorities to permit rescue and reduction operations to happen safely. That’s commonplace process. For instance, the FAA issued such Momentary Flight Restrictions throughout reduction efforts for Hurricane Laura in 2020, when Trump was in workplace.
“The FAA is just not limiting entry for restoration operations,” the administration stated in an announcement offered to FactCheck.org. “The FAA is coordinating carefully with state and native officers to ensure everybody is working safely in very crowded and congested airspace.”
On a “rumor response” webpage, FEMA stated it doesn’t deal with donations — volunteer teams do. “FEMA doesn’t take donations and/or meals from survivors or voluntary organizations. Donations of meals, water, or different items are dealt with by voluntary businesses who specialise in storing, sorting, cleansing, and distributing donated gadgets,” it said.
Harris Misleads on Trump’s Tax Minimize Plans
Harris as soon as once more left the deceptive impression that Trump would solely reduce taxes for billionaires and massive companies.
“His plan can be once more to present tax cuts to billionaires and the most important companies in our nation and blow up our deficit,” Harris said.
Trump’s proposals would reduce taxes for rich taxpayers and companies and considerably improve funds deficits. However they’d additionally profit most different taxpayers, too.
Trump proposes extending all of the revenue and company tax cuts included within the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which Trump signed in December 2017. Most of the tax cuts, together with the person revenue tax cuts, will expire after 2025.
Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow on the Tax Coverage Middle, wrote in July that extending all the TCJA’s expiring tax provisions would value an estimated $4 trillion over 10 years, and a lot of the advantages (about 55%) would go to these making about $450,000 or much less. (Harris’ tax proposals additionally call for extending the person revenue tax cuts within the TCJA however just for households with annual incomes of $400,000 or much less, as a part of a extra focused tax reduce plan for low- and middle-income households, together with rising the kid tax credit score to $6,000 and increasing the Earned Revenue Tax Credit score.)
Trump has additionally proposed reducing the company revenue tax charge even additional — from 21% to fifteen% — for firms that manufacture their merchandise in america. The Committee for a Accountable Federal Finances estimates that the proposal would end in a income lack of about $200 billion over 10 years.
Along with extending the TCJA tax cuts, Trump’s different tax plans, resembling eliminating taxes on Social Safety and suggestions, would profit some middle-income households.
Based on a Tax Coverage Middle analysis, eliminating taxes on Social Safety advantages would end in a median tax reduce of about $630 for about 28% of middle-income households. The Penn Wharton Finances Mannequin projects that eliminating taxes on Social Safety would value $1.2 trillion over 10 years.
Harris has additionally proposed exempting suggestions from federal revenue taxes. TPC estimated that solely 2% of U.S. households would profit from exempting tipped revenue from federal revenue taxes, and it will value $6.5 billion in 2025 (or $3.2 billion if the exemption is restricted to these incomes $75,000 or much less).
PWBM decided that Harris’ tax and spending plans would improve cumulative deficits by $1.2 trillion over the subsequent 10 years on a traditional foundation and by $2 trillion on a dynamic foundation. (Dynamic forecasts keep in mind the insurance policies’ anticipated results on financial exercise.) PWBM’s evaluation of Trump’s tax and spending plans concluded that his would trigger a lot bigger deficits.
“We estimate that the Trump Marketing campaign tax and spending proposals would improve main deficits by $5.8 trillion over the subsequent 10 years on a traditional foundation and by $4.1 trillion on a dynamic foundation that features financial suggestions results,” the evaluation said.
Trump’s Bogus Border Declare
Talking concerning the border, Trump falsely claimed, “You bought to see the court docket techniques. We now have 1000’s of judges on the border. No different nation has judges on the border. If any individual walks in, they stroll them out.”
That’s unsuitable on two counts. First, there are 725 immigration judges, not “1000’s.” Second, plenty of different international locations have asylum processes through which immigrants stay in nation till their circumstances are accomplished.
“Different international locations have an identical system to us,” Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a coverage analyst on the Migration Coverage Institute, advised us in a telephone interview.
Based on the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the subsequent 1967 Protocol, member nations, together with the U.S., agreed that “nobody shall expel or return … a refugee towards his or her will, in any method by any means, to a territory the place she or he fears threats to life or freedom.” The conference “lays down fundamental minimal requirements for the therapy of refugees. … Such rights embody entry to the courts, to main schooling, to work, and the availability for documentation, together with a refugee journey doc in passport type.”
Presently, 149 countries are events to the 1951 Conference and/or its 1967 Protocol. These international locations have an obligation to think about an asylum utility, and “refugees shouldn’t be penalized for his or her unlawful entry or keep.” And people refugees are allowed to remain in that nation pending a court docket dedication of the validity of their asylum case.
In 2022, the U.Okay. authorities proposed a plan through which asylum seekers who entered the U.Okay. illegally can be despatched to Rwanda and have their asylum claims processed there. However in November 2023, the U.Okay. Supreme Courtroom deemed the proposal unlawful, and the federal government finally scrapped the plan.
A part of the issue with asylum circumstances within the U.S., Bush-Joseph stated, is that the immigration courts have a yearslong backlog of greater than 3.7 million cases, greater than 1 million of them asylum circumstances. In the meantime, she stated, the immigration court docket system funds for fiscal 12 months 2024 was reduce by $16 million. The bipartisan Senate immigration invoice torpedoed by Trump earlier this 12 months sought, amongst different issues, so as to add 100 immigration court docket judges.
Financial Evaluation of Harris and Trump Plans
A number of financial analyses have discovered Harris’ insurance policies can be extra favorable for the U.S. financial system than Trump’s insurance policies. However Harris’ description was off for a number of of the experiences.
“My plans for the financial system will strengthen the financial system, as have been reviewed by 16 Nobel laureates, Goldman Sachs, Moody’s, and just lately, the Wall Avenue Journal, which have all studied our plans and have indicated my plans for our financial system would strengthen our financial system,” Harris said. “His would make them weaker — would ignite inflation and invite a recession by the center of subsequent 12 months. These are the information.”
Moody’s Analytics is the one report amongst people who projected a recession by the center of 2025 underneath Trump’s insurance policies.
As we’ve written before, Harris exaggerated in naming Goldman Sachs. Analysts with the worldwide funding and wealth administration agency discovered that the financial system would proceed to develop underneath each candidates. However underneath Trump, the actual gross home product, which is adjusted for inflation, would develop lower than it in any other case would within the second half of 2025 — 0.5 share factors much less. The report stated that slower progress “abates in 2026.” Below Harris, there can be at greatest a “very slight enhance to GDP progress” within the first two years, the report stated.
In a Sept. 11 CNBC interview, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon steered the distinction within the financial impression between the 2 candidates isn’t important, saying, “I believe much more has been fabricated from this than ought to be.”
The evaluation did say that Trump’s proposal to extend tariffs on imports would result in larger inflation.
In a Wall Street Journal quarterly survey of economists from early October, most stated that inflation, rates of interest and deficits can be larger underneath a Trump presidency than underneath Harris.
A majority — 68% — stated inflation would doubtless be larger underneath Trump’s insurance policies, whereas 12% stated inflation can be larger underneath Harris’ insurance policies. Economists gave Harris the sting on financial progress, however they have been extra divided on that concern: 44.9% stated financial progress can be larger underneath Harris, whereas 36.7% stated it will larger underneath Trump. Fifty economists answered the inflation query, and 49 answered the financial progress question.
The survey didn’t ask a few potential recession underneath one candidate versus the opposite. Relatively, it requested — because the survey usually does — concerning the likelihood of the U.S. being in a recession any time inside the subsequent 12 months. Economists put that likelihood at 26%.
As for Moody’s Analytics, Mark Zandi, the agency’s chief economist, has said that if Harris and Trump have been capable of get all their insurance policies enacted, the financial system would thrive extra underneath a Harris administration. An early August report from Moody’s projected that even with a cut up Congress, Harris’ proposals would end in common annual GDP progress of two.1% from 2024 to 2028, and that with a Trump presidency and a Republican-controlled Congress, the expansion can be 1.3% yearly on common.
Moody’s additionally stated that underneath the Trump state of affairs, inflation would improve from 3% this 12 months to three.5% subsequent 12 months, and a recession would begin by the center of 2025. Below Harris, with a cut up Congress, inflation would decline to 2.4% in 2025.
The 16 Nobel Prize-winning economists Harris cited wrote a letter in June, when Biden was nonetheless working for reelection, praising the Biden administration, not analyzing future plans by Harris. However they stated they have been “deeply involved concerning the dangers of a second Trump administration for the U.S. financial system” and famous different researchers “predict that if Donald Trump efficiently enacts his agenda, it can improve inflation.”
Falsehood About Murderers ‘Launched’
Trump repeated the false declare that “13,099 murderers have been launched into our nation” underneath the Biden administration.
“We now have to take these murderers that they’ve allowed to come back by means of open borders with out figuring out something about them. We now have to take these individuals, and we have now to take away them,” Trump said.
We wrote about this final month, when Trump and his working mate, Sen. JD Vance, launched this speaking level. The “overwhelming majority” of those 13,099 noncitizens — not simply those that entered the nation illegally — got here to america previous to the Biden administration and had their custody standing decided “lengthy earlier than this Administration,” because the Division of Homeland Safety stated final month.
Trump is referring to the variety of noncitizens who have been convicted on homicide prices, however weren’t within the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The company’s non-detained docket, as it’s recognized, exhibits that there have been 13,099 noncitizens convicted of homicide within the U.S. however not in ICE custody, as of July 21, based on a letter despatched by the ICE appearing director to a Republican congressman on Sept. 25.
However DHS has stated that the info is being “misinterpreted.”
“The info goes again many years; it contains people who entered the nation over the previous 40 years or extra, the overwhelming majority of whose custody dedication was made lengthy earlier than this Administration,” DHS stated in an announcement. “It additionally contains many who’re underneath the jurisdiction or presently incarcerated by federal, state or native legislation enforcement companions.”
Michelle Mittelstadt, director of communications for the Migration Coverage Institute, additionally advised us that folks have been on the non-detained docket “for many years.”
“This docket has grown underneath a number of administrations, together with the Trump one,” she stated. “Important numbers of individuals on the docket have been on it for many years.”
Harris’ Shifting Place on Advantages for Immigrants
Harris stated that as president, she’s going to “comply with the legislation” with regards to permitting immigrants within the nation illegally to use for a driver’s license, to qualify without spending a dime tuition at universities or to be enrolled in free well being care. However she has supported these positions up to now.
In her Fox Information interview, Baier asked, “In terms of immigration, you supported permitting immigrants within the nation illegally to use for driver’s license, to qualify without spending a dime tuition at universities, to be enrolled in free well being care. Do you continue to assist these issues?”
Harris responded, “Hear, that was 5 years in the past, and I’m very clear that I’ll comply with the legislation. I’ve make that assertion again and again, and as vice chairman of america, that’s precisely what I’ve executed, to not point out earlier than.”
As we have written, immigrants who will not be lawfully current within the U.S. are ineligible for the well being plans created underneath the Inexpensive Care Act. Moreover, immigrants within the nation illegally are nonetheless generally not eligible for non-emergency federal well being care packages. Earlier this 12 months, the Biden administration did concern a rule to make so-called Dreamers — sure people who have been delivered to america illegally as youngsters years in the past — eligible to acquire medical insurance plans established by the Inexpensive Care Act. For individuals who select to purchase a well being plan on the exchanges, in addition they may qualify for federal financial assistance that will decrease the price of that personal insurance coverage.
As a presidential candidate again in 2019, Harris supported common well being care, then generally known as Medicare for All, and the concept it should cover immigrants who’re within the nation illegally.
In a CNN interview in Could of that 12 months, CNN’s Jake Tapper requested Harris, “So that you assist giving common well being care and Medicare for All to people who find themselves on this nation illegally?”
“Let me simply be very clear about this,” Harris responded. “I’m against any coverage that will deny in our nation any human being from entry to public security, public schooling or public well being, interval.”
Harris has since abandoned her push for Medicare for All.
As for permitting immigrants within the nation illegally to acquire a driver’s license, that’s a state concern. Based on the National Conference of State Legislatures, “Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted legal guidelines to permit unauthorized immigrants to acquire driver’s licenses.” (Again in 2015, when California had simply handed a legislation permitting immigrants within the nation illegally to acquire a driver’s license, Harris, then the state’s legal professional normal, issued a consumer alert to warn immigrants about potential scams associated to acquiring a driver’s license.)
A kind of 19 states is Minnesota. In 2023, Harris’ working mate, Tim Walz, signed a bill that allowed immigrants within the nation illegally to acquire a driver’s license within the state. That 12 months, Walz additionally signed legislation to permit immigrants within the nation illegally to entry well being take care of low-income residents, in addition to to supply some immigrants the flexibility to qualify without spending a dime tuition at state universities.
Requested about these votes throughout an interview on “Fox Information Sunday” on Oct. 6, Walz stated, “Nicely, that’s not the vice chairman’s place.”
When Baier requested Harris about Walz’s votes, Harris responded, “We’re very clear and I’m very clear, as is Tim Walz, that we should assist and implement federal legislation and that’s precisely what we are going to do.”
Extra Falsehoods About Springfield, Ohio
Trump — who baselessly claimed throughout the Sept. 10 debate that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, have been “consuming the pets” of their neighbors — as soon as once more bought the information unsuitable concerning the metropolis’s immigrant inhabitants.
“They simply dropped 30,000 unlawful aliens in Springfield, Ohio, and it’s develop into a unique place,” Trump said. After host Harris Faulkner stated the Haitians have been within the U.S. legally, Trump added: “As a way to get the individuals in legally, they name them probation. Probation’s for prisoners. So that they use this in Springfield, Ohio.”
Trump exaggerated the variety of Haitians dwelling in Springfield. In an FAQ on its immigrant population, the town stated there are an estimated 12,000 to fifteen,000 immigrants dwelling in Clark County, the place Springfield is situated.
“We now have realistically been saying 12 to fifteen,000 immigrants is what we’ve, what we have now counted by means of the well being division and different businesses that we work with,” Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said in a Sept. 10 press convention.
Earlier than Faulkner corrected him, Trump additionally falsely referred to the Haitians as “unlawful aliens.” After he was advised that the immigrants have been right here legally, Trump then incorrectly stated they got “probation,” which he stated is “for prisoners.” As the town FAQ additionally defined, “Haitian immigrants are right here legally,” underneath a humanitarian parole program administered by the Division of Homeland Safety. Humanitarian parole is just not the identical factor as criminal parole, which is granted to inmates who’ve served a portion of their sentence. (Learn our Ask FactCheck for extra details about the humanitarian parole program.)
Trump additionally mischaracterized how the Haitians arrived in Springfield. These immigrants weren’t “dropped” in Springfield, however somewhat they selected to reside within the metropolis.
“No authorities entity is liable for the inflow of Haitians into Clark County,” the town defined on its FAQ web page. “As soon as an individual with Momentary Protected Standing enters the nation, they’re free to find wherever they select.”
Deceptive Immigration Chart
As he usually does, Trump referred to a chart on unlawful immigration, which he wrongly stated exhibits that “the day I left workplace … we had the fewest variety of individuals.” Trump usually hails the chart as a life-saver as a result of he had turned to gesture to it at a Pennsylvania rally on July 13 when an murderer’s bullet hit his ear.
“The well-known graph that I checked out, my all-time favourite piece of paper. … However that exhibits you, that day, the day I left workplace, the border was the most secure it ever was within the historical past of our nation,” Trump stated on the Fox Information city corridor. “We had the fewest variety of individuals.”
As we wrote in April when Trump started referring to the chart at rallies, the arrow on the chart that purports to level to when “Trump leaves workplace” really factors to apprehensions in April 2020, when apprehensions plummeted throughout the top of the pandemic.
After apprehensions reached a pandemic low in April 2020, they rose each month after that. In his final months in workplace, apprehensions had greater than quadrupled and have been larger than the month he took workplace.
In truth, apprehensions over the past three full months of Trump’s presidency have been about 24.4% higher than the final three months underneath Biden, ending in September. The overall variety of apprehensions was additionally larger throughout Trump’s presidency than both of President Barack Obama’s four-year phrases.
Apprehensions went up considerably underneath the Biden administration, however have dropped in current months after Biden implemented new emergency insurance policies to quickly limit asylum eligibility and promptly take away many who cross the border illegally as soon as apprehensions attain a sure stage.
Distortions About Combatting ISIS
Trump left the misunderstanding that he “completed off” the Islamic State, also called ISIS or IS, in a matter of weeks.
“I completed off ISIS,” Trump stated. “It was purported to take 5 years. I did it in a month, month-and-a-half.”
As we wrote in 2018, a U.S.-led coalition had retaken about 50% of the land managed by ISIS previous to Trump taking workplace on Jan. 20, 2017. In Trump’s first 12 months, the coalition had recaptured practically all the remaining land.
In a briefing on Dec. 21, 2017, Brett McGurk, then-special presidential envoy for the worldwide coalition to counter ISIS, stated that about 98% of the land comprising the ISIS caliphate had been recovered by coalition forces.
“And considerably, 50 p.c of all of the territory that ISIS has misplaced, they’ve misplaced within the final 11 months, since January,” McGurk stated. “So 50 p.c of all of the territorial losses towards ISIS have come within the final 11 months over the course of 2017.”
Nevertheless it wasn’t till late March 2019 — greater than two years into the Trump presidency — that the 79-member U.S.-led coalition took management of all ISIS-controlled territory in Syria and Iraq.
It seems that Trump was referring to reclaiming the final 1% of land from ISIS when he stated he “completed off ISIS,” though he didn’t make that clear and even that took longer than one month.
In early March 2018, earlier than the U.S.-coalition had recaptured the remaining land from ISIS, Trump spoke at the annual Conservative Political Motion Convention and stated he “needed to fireplace” a normal who advised him it will take two years to reclaim 100% of the territory as soon as held by ISIS. Trump stated “then I flew to Iraq,” the place different generals advised him, “we are able to have it completely completed in a single week.” However a number of weeks earlier than Trump’s December 2018 visit to Iraq, McGurk said it will take “a interval of months” to retake the remaining 1% of ISIS-held territory — which turned out to be right. It took about three extra months.
In late December 2018, McGurk resigned in protest after Trump eliminated U.S. troops from Syria earlier than the remaining land had been retaken from ISIS. McGurk turned an outspoken critic of Trump’s overseas coverage and accused the previous president of permitting ISIS to flourish once more in Syria.
“As a candidate [in 2016], Trump stated he had a secret plan for ISIS,” McGurk tweeted on Oct. 29, 2020. “As president, he carried ahead the plan he inherited after which squandered it. As we speak, ISIS flags are again in areas of Syria that Trump deserted with out thought.”
In a report issued shortly after Trump left workplace, the nonpartisan Congressional Analysis Service stated ISIS as of early 2021 “continues to wage a low-level insurgency throughout Syria and Iraq, with an estimated power of 8,000 to 16,000 fighters.”
In an replace of that report issued in Could, CRS said ISIS “remained a risk.”
“As of early 2024, U.N. sanctions displays reported that IS was ‘successfully suppressed’ in Iraq and Syria however remained a risk,” the report stated. “U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Gen. Kurilla testified in March 2024 {that a} ‘untimely Coalition departure’ earlier than U.S. companions ‘can function independently’ would allow IS to regain territory ‘inside two years.’”
Extra Trump Repeats
Roe v. Wade. Trump repeated his false claim that “each authorized scholar” and “liberals and conservatives” wished to finish Roe v. Wade’s constitutional proper to abortion and convey the problem “again to the states for a vote of the individuals.” Specialists beforehand advised us the declare is “utter nonsense” and “patently absurd.” Most Individuals additionally opposed the ending of Roe, according to public opinion polls.
Unlawful immigration. Trump has repeatedly inflated the variety of apprehensions on the southern border underneath the Biden administration and ignored that thousands and thousands have been instantly expelled. He claimed: “21 million individuals got here in over the past three years with them.”
That’s double the entire variety of individuals caught attempting to enter the nation illegally (7.1 million, which incorporates repeat makes an attempt), those that got here to authorized ports of entry with out authorization to enter (1.2 million), and the estimated quantity who evaded seize (2 million). Complete DHS knowledge on the preliminary processing of those encounters exhibits that 2.9 million have been eliminated by CBP and three.2 million have been launched with notices to seem in immigration court docket or report back to Immigration and Customs Enforcement or given different classifications, resembling parole. See our prior reports on these figures for extra data.
Not a ‘border czar.’ Trump falsely claimed that Biden “made [Harris] border czar. She by no means even went there.” As vice chairman, Harris has been to the U.S. border with Mexico twice. In 2021, she traveled to El Paso, Texas, and in September she went to Douglas, Arizona.
Additionally, border safety was not Harris’ accountability, because the “border czar” title implies. That’s the job of the Division of Homeland Safety, presently led by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
As we’ve written, Biden tasked Harris in March 2021 with main efforts to handle the basis causes of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The Central American initiative, generally known as the “Root Causes Technique,” seeks to discourage migration from these international locations by, amongst different issues, offering funds for pure disasters, preventing corruption, and creating partnerships with the personal sector and worldwide organizations.
Not the best financial system. Due to his first time period as president, Trump predicted that “we’re going to have record-setting jobs” if he wins the 2024 election. “I imply, the benefit I’ve is that I’ve executed it. We had the best financial system within the historical past of our nation,” he stated.
The U.S. didn’t have “the best financial system” ever underneath Trump. Based mostly on actual (inflation-adjusted) gross home product progress, which economists use to measure financial well being, the U.S. did higher underneath a number of presidents. Trump’s peak year of three% progress was exceeded greater than a dozen occasions previous to his presidency. Because the Thirties, Barack Obama and Herbert Hoover are the one presidents who didn’t see a 12 months with better than 3% progress in GDP.
There additionally wasn’t document job creation throughout Trump’s first time period, as his remark might have steered.
Largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, complete nonfarm employment was lower when Trump left workplace than when he entered. However even earlier than the pandemic started in March 2020, the rise in employment of 6.7 million underneath Trump was smaller than it was throughout four-year phrases underneath a number of presidents, based on BLS knowledge going again to 1939. For instance, employment elevated by greater than 11 million in every of Invoice Clinton’s two phrases.
Vitality manufacturing. Trump stated, “Once I took over, we have been quantity three and quantity 4 in vitality by way of manufacturing. Once I left, we have been primary by far.”
That’s not correct. China leads the world in complete vitality manufacturing, and that has been the case since 2006, according to knowledge from the Vitality Data Administration.
Trump likely meant to seek advice from crude oil manufacturing. In 2016, earlier than he took workplace, the U.S ranked third in manufacturing of crude oil, together with lease condensate. The U.S. had the identical rating in 2017, Trump’s first 12 months in workplace. In 2018, the U.S. jumped to first place, forward of Russia, and has since maintained its high spot. However that was anticipated. In 2012, the Worldwide Vitality Company predicted the U.S. would develop into the highest oil producer by 2017.
Inflation. Trump falsely claimed once more that “we had the worst inflation within the historical past of our nation” underneath Biden and Harris.
The most important 12-month improve within the Shopper Worth Index occurred from June 1919 to June 1920, when the CPI rose 23.7%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in a 2014 publication marking the a centesimal anniversary of the company’s monitoring value adjustments.
Since Biden has been president, the biggest increase occurred throughout a 12-month interval ending in June 2022, when the CPI rose 9.1% (earlier than seasonal adjustment). Extra just lately, the CPI rose 2.4% within the 12 months ending in September. Inflation is just not “down now to 4.5%,” as Trump claimed.
Border wall. Trump again exaggerated the quantity of border wall constructed throughout his administration, claiming “we constructed 571 miles of wall. And that wall labored.” There have been 458 miles of “border wall system” constructed throughout Trump’s time period. Most, 373 miles, was alternative boundaries for main or secondary fencing that was dilapidated or outdated, based on a January 2021 Customs and Border Protection status report. Simply 52 miles of wall was added in areas the place no boundaries beforehand existed.
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